Scheduling a call with a client in New York, a family video chat with relatives in Dubai, or a webinar hosted from London? The Time Zone Converter turns a date and time in one zone into the matching time in another. It uses your browser’s built-in time-zone database, so daylight saving time (DST) is handled automatically. It also shows the same moment in 24 major cities.
How to use the time zone converter
- Choose the date. This matters because DST changes the offset during the year.
- Enter the time in the source zone.
- Choose the From and To time zones. India (IST) is selected by default.
- Press Convert Time. Use Swap to reverse the direction.
How the conversion works
Target time = UTC time + Target offset
India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 all year, because India doesn’t observe daylight saving. Many other zones shift by an hour for part of the year, so the gap between IST and New York, London or Sydney changes with the season.
IST vs major zones
| Zone | Standard offset | IST is ahead by (standard) | During their DST |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York (EST/EDT) | UTC−5 | 10 h 30 m | 9 h 30 m (Mar–Nov) |
| Los Angeles (PST/PDT) | UTC−8 | 13 h 30 m | 12 h 30 m (Mar–Nov) |
| London (GMT/BST) | UTC+0 | 5 h 30 m | 4 h 30 m (Mar–Oct) |
| Berlin / Paris (CET/CEST) | UTC+1 | 4 h 30 m | 3 h 30 m (Mar–Oct) |
| Dubai (GST) | UTC+4 | 1 h 30 m | No DST |
| Singapore (SGT) | UTC+8 | IST is 2 h 30 m behind | No DST |
| Tokyo (JST) | UTC+9 | IST is 3 h 30 m behind | No DST |
| Sydney (AEST/AEDT) | UTC+10 | IST is 4 h 30 m behind | 5 h 30 m behind (Oct–Apr) |
US daylight saving runs from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. In the UK and EU it runs from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October. For a week or two each year the US and Europe are out of step, so check the specific date.
Worked examples
- Call with New York in July: 9:00 PM IST → 11:30 AM EDT the same day.
- Call with New York in December: 9:00 PM IST → 10:30 AM EST the same day.
- London webinar at 2:00 PM GMT (winter) → 7:30 PM IST.
- Dubai at 10:00 AM → 11:30 AM IST, all year.
- Sydney at 9:00 AM in January (AEDT) → 3:30 AM IST the same day.
Best meeting windows from India
| Working with | Overlap in IST (approx.) | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| US East Coast | 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM IST | Their morning is your evening. Rotate early and late slots fairly. |
| US West Coast | 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM IST, or early morning IST | Very little overlap. Use async updates. |
| UK / Europe | 1:30 PM – 7:30 PM IST | Comfortable afternoon overlap. |
| Gulf (UAE, Saudi) | Most of the working day | Only 1.5–2.5 h difference. |
| Singapore, Australia | Morning IST | They are ahead, so schedule before lunch IST. |
Unusual offsets
Not every zone is a whole number of hours from UTC. India (+5:30), Sri Lanka (+5:30), Nepal (+5:45), Iran (+3:30), Afghanistan (+4:30), Myanmar (+6:30) and parts of Australia (+9:30) use half-hour or quarter-hour offsets. That is one reason mental conversion goes wrong so often. For Unix timestamps and UTC, see the Timestamp Converter.
Why does India have one time zone?
India spans almost 30° of longitude, about two hours of solar time, but uses a single zone based on 82.5° E, near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. Sunrise in Arunachal Pradesh can be close to two hours earlier than in Gujarat. There have been proposals for a separate north-east time zone, but IST remains the only official time for the whole country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between India and the USA?
IST is 9 h 30 m to 13 h 30 m ahead of the continental US, depending on the zone and season. New York is 10 h 30 m behind IST in winter (EST) and 9 h 30 m behind in summer (EDT).
Does India have daylight saving time?
No. India uses IST (UTC+5:30) all year, so only the other country’s DST changes the gap.
How do I convert IST to EST?
Subtract 10 h 30 m during US standard time (early November to mid-March), or 9 h 30 m during US daylight time. The converter applies the correct offset for the date you pick.
What is IST in GMT?
IST = GMT + 5:30. When it is 12:00 noon GMT, it is 5:30 PM in India. During British Summer Time, London is only 4 h 30 m behind India.
Why should I enter a date and not just a time?
Because daylight saving rules depend on the date. The same clock time can convert differently in March and in December.